SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

richard-1787 As the poster for this movie reveals, it was based on a very successful Broadway comedy. And that comedy must have been a door- slamming farce of the French variety played around a hotel room, such as you find in many of Feydeau's comedies. It doesn't have a farce's face pace, though, and that's a real problem.There is lots of talent here, so that's not the problem. It's just that it is sometimes misused, or underused. Having Jane Wyman play stupid, for example, seems like a real waste, and not a particularly successful one. I suspect the real problem was the direction. If this worked on Broadway, and evidently it did, it must have moved faster and been funnier. This was James V. Kern's first shot at directing a movie, and he evidently didn't know how to bring off a farce on the screen.There are other problems as well.I don't know who thought to put Alexis Smith and Ann Sheridan, who look fairly alike anyway, in this movie and then coif them with the same sort of hairdos, but it was not a great idea.Alan Mowbray preparing his radio talk in the middle of the mayhem is a flat steal from Sheridan Whiteside in *The Man Who Came to Dinner*, and the comparison doesn't do this movie any favors. There's nothing wrong with this movie. It's just not memorable.

Neil Doyle I was so busy watching ANN SHERIDAN looking so great that I had a hard time keeping track of the zany plot. She really had a flair for comedy, even this kind of absurd farce, that it's a shame she was never given better scripts. JANE WYMAN plays the sort of dumb blonde that made Marilyn famous (only she's a brunette here)--but she too is saddled with overly dumb remarks that even JACK Carson has a hard time swallowing. And ALEXIS SMITH proves that behind that frozen puss she has a real sense of humor. Catch the scene where she stoops to telling a tale of woe in a Brooklyn accent! Incidentally, her boyfriend in the film is the man she eventually married in real life--CRAIG REYNOLDS.I don't fault the actors. CHARLES RUGGLES is actually quite good as a businessman attracted to Wyman. And character actor JOHN RIDGELY gets to play a prominent supporting role as Sheridan's fiancé with a good deal of amiable charm and skill. For these reasons alone, the film is worth watching despite the over-baked ham.But beware of most of the farce, which is directed with the finesse of a sledgehammer bearing down on all the lines, emphasized by big close-ups of the cast in wide-eyed reaction shots in case we don't get the point.It's another in a number of wartime films (WWII) emphasizing the overcrowded hotel conditions in Washington, D.C. from the very opening shot--similar to "The More the Merrier" and "Government Girl."Terribly overdone, downright hammy performances from everyone including EVE ARDEN as "a Russian Sergeant York" who shoots her rifle from the terrace. Jane Wyman's character gets annoying after the first few remarks and from then on I kept my eyes on Sheridan. Her reactions are priceless, if a bit over-the-top.Trivia note: MARK STEVENS has only a couple of lines to say during one of the crowded hotel scenes as Reynolds' Army friend and NATALIE SCHAEFER has no lines at all as a woman holding a baby.

David (Handlinghandel) Jane Wyman, Alexis Smith, and Ann Sheridan start this with good chemistry among themselves. It seems to be "The Women," with a few men and some genuine kind feelings among the participants. Some of the men could be done without but Charlie Ruggles is always a joy.They continue to work together but things bog down. It's hard to believe that Wyman is as dumb as she's meant to be. And talk about wastes: What in the world made anyone cast Eve Arden as a Russian military officer, uniform, dark wig and all? Her sparklingly dry humor would have fit in perfectly with the situation but she is hidden under layers of camouflage. The Russian she's given is pretty questionable, too.Irene Manning is fun as a viperous ex-wife of one of the three leads' husband and/or husband-to-be.Wartime Washington was crowded but so is this movie. Too much going on sinks this vessel. Give us"The More The Merrier"?

willrams I never saw this film until today on TCM TV; Three wild crazy females all wanting to get married to men in government in a Washington D.C. hotel, and lots of crazy antics going on. My favorite Eve Arden really steals the show as the Russian countess; she is fantastically funny! The three actresses are Alexis Smith, Ann Sheridan, and Jane Wyman and they finally get their men; one of them is Jack Carson. Also of note were Alan Mowbray and Charles Ruggles, my favorite brainteasers. If you want to be jolly entertained, see this but be ready for some really stupid antics